Which Trends Are Coming in Food and Beverage?

As a restaurant professional, you know it’s essential to keep up with popular developments in food and beverage and more importantly, anticipate what’s coming next. Here are a few trends you need to know in the coming year.

Special Diets

Increasingly, restaurants are focusing on how to adapt to diners’ evolving tastes and dietary restrictions. Restaurant managers who saw an uptick in business by accommodating vegetarians, vegans or diners who require gluten-free meals may now look for additional ways to attract and please those customers.

Two of the most prevalent diet trends are plant-based and paleo. The two plans are similar in that there is a focus on fresh, unprocessed food. The primary difference is that paleo diets include meat while plant-based relies on non-meat protein sources such as beans. The range of meatless options are expanding with pea protein-based products taking a place alongside such traditional substitutes as tofu and seitan. With a little attention to detail, items that conform with these meal plans are simple to add to your menu.

Food from other cultures and countries continues to make an impact on the restaurant industry. Two of the latest cuisines to be featured are Filipino and German food.

Filipino Food

Cuisine from the Philippines relies heavily on contrast between sweet and sour. Dishes often contain vinegar or chilis, but you’ll find guava and ginger as well as a counterpoint. Philippine cuisine shares origins with Malaysian and Indonesian cultures and has been influenced over the last two centuries by Indian, Chinese, Spanish, Japanese and American cuisines.

German Food

Cuisine from Germany is hearty and pairs well with beer. It includes meats and sausages and dense, chewy breads. Common ingredients include garlic and onion, as well as pumpkin seed oil, pumpkin seeds, dried tomato and cheese.

Hopped Cider

Hard cider has been an adult beverage option in the U.S. for several years now, but the popularity of hops-heavy beers like IPAs have led to innovations in the cider industry. Hopped cider begins with the same fermentation process as conventional cider, but is then finished with hops, giving it a hybrid cider/beer flavor.

Hard Seltzer

Seltzer sales are booming – sales have increased 42 percent over the past five years. According to the Beverage Marketing Corp, seltzer brands like Lacroix are gaining market share over soda. The latest entry to the market is alcoholic seltzer such as that from Henry’s which combines low-sugar content with an alcoholic kick. It’s the perfect beverage for millennials and the fitness focused.

Keep up with the latest trends with Horizon Hospitality, your restaurant recruiter!

The restaurant recruitment specialists at Horizon Hospitality can help you keep up with the latest industry and hiring trends. Contact us today to learn more or start your restaurant executive search.